Fruit juice vs soda

Juice or soda: the question is not so simple

"At least it's fruit." The idea is widespread, and it contains a grain of truth: pure juice provides vitamin C and potassium, whereas a soda provides nothing of the kind. But when it comes to sugar, the difference is much smaller than people think.

What the law says: juice, nectar, fruit drink

The European directive on fruit juices (2001/112/EC, amended by Directive 2012/12/EU) reserves precise names. In the consolidated version we read onlegislation.gov.uk:

• Fruit juiceis the product "fermentable but not fermented" obtained from the edible part of sound, ripe fruit. For citrus fruits, it must come from the endocarp, the flesh of the fruit.
• Juice made from concentrateis obtained by reconstituting a concentrated juice with drinking water. Concentration consists of physically removing at least 50% of the water from the juice. The finished product must meet a minimum soluble solids level (degrees Brix) set by the text.
• Nectaris made by adding water, with or without sugars and/or honey, to fruit juice, concentrate or purée. The added sugar and honey content can reach 20% of the weight of the finished product. A nectar may also be sweetened with sweeteners, or be "light".

The text we read only provides for adding sugars to nectars. For juices, it only allows adjusting the acidity with lemon or lime juice, up to 3 g per litre expressed as anhydrous citric acid. For nectars, the claim "no added sugars" is only permitted if the product contains no added mono- or disaccharides nor any other food used for its sweetening power; if sugars are naturally present, the label must then state "contains naturally occurring sugars".

The term "fruit drink" does not appear in the passages we read: we found no legal definition equivalent to that of juice or nectar. In Ciqual, these products are described by their juice content ("10 to 50% juice"). A fruit drink is therefore not necessarily a juice.

Sugar per 100 ml: the figures

TheANSES Ciqual nutritional composition table(2020 edition, values expressed per 100 g, which roughly equals 100 ml for a drink) gives the following average sugar contents:

• Orange juice, pure juice: 9.61 g of sugars, 45.4 kcal.
• Orange juice, made from concentrate: 9.59 g of sugars, 45.6 kcal.
• Orange nectar: 8.79 g of sugars.Standard multifruit nectar: 11 g.
• Sweetened sparkling fruit drink (10 to 50% juice): 9.92 g of sugars, 46.6 kcal.
• Sweetened cola: 10.2 g of sugars, 41.8 kcal.

A pure orange juice and a classic cola therefore contain, to within a few decimal places, the same amount of sugar. A 200 ml glass of pure orange juice provides about 19 g of sugars, or nearly four 5 g sugar cubes. These are averages: only the label of a specific product is authoritative.

Another point to note: for the WHO, "free sugars" include added sugars but also those found infruit juices and concentrated juices. The WHO recommends limiting these free sugars to less than 10% of daily energy.

Official recommendations

TheANSESadvises adults not to consume more than 100 g of sugars per day (excluding lactose and galactose) and "no more than one glass of sugary drink" per day. The page specifies that liquid sugars (sodas, nectars, juices made from concentrate, fresh fruit juices, smoothies) contribute to weight gain, and that sweetened or sugar-free drinks should not replace water. It is therefore wise to count juice within that glass.

For Nutri-Score,Santé publique Francestates that water remains the only drink rated A, and that the updated algorithm better distinguishes drinks by their sugar content and limits the substitution of sugar with sweeteners. Juices and nectars keep a broadly similar rating. We could not confirm the exact letters for an orange juice and a cola: for a specific product, see its packaging.

The real differences between a juice and a soda

• Fibre.According to Ciqual, a raw orange provides 2.7 g of fibre per 100 g, pure orange juice 0.28 g. Once pressed, the fruit loses almost all its fibre.
• Vitamin C.Pure orange juice contains 37 mg per 100 g (47.5 mg for a raw orange), sweetened cola none. A real advantage of juice.
• Liquid calories.ANSES classes liquid sugars among those that contribute to weight gain. A drink is consumed quickly and generally satisfies less than a solid food. This applies to juice as much as to soda.
• Added sugar.Pure juice contains none. A nectar may contain up to 20% of the finished product's weight, and a fruit drink or soda almost always contains some. To tell the cases apart, see our article onhidden sugar and salt.

What observational studies say

Research on 100% fruit juice is less clear-cut than one might think. A meta-analysis of prospective cohorts published inPLoS ONE in 2014pooled four studies on 100% fruit juice (137,663 participants, 4,906 cases of type 2 diabetes): no significant association (relative risk 1.03, 95% confidence interval 0.91 to 1.18). For juice with added sugar, four other studies (191,686 participants) found a higher risk (relative risk 1.28).

In children, an analysis of US data (NHANES 2011-2016,Frontiers in Nutrition, 2019) found no association between 100% fruit juice consumption and body mass index z-score, at any age.

These studies have important limitations: they areobservational studies, which measure associations rather than causes. Each estimate rests on few studies, the lifestyles of juice drinkers differ, and the American analysis is cross-sectional. "No association" does not prove that juice is harmless in large quantities.

Alternatives

• Water, still or sparkling, is ANSES's benchmark for everyday drinking.
• Homemade flavoured water: lemon, cucumber or mint. Shop-bought versions may contain sugars or sweeteners: read the ingredient list.
• Whole fruit, which keeps its fibre and is eaten more slowly than juice is drunk.
• Diet or "zero" sodasprovide almost no sugar (0.11 g for a sugar-free cola with sweeteners in Ciqual), but raise other questions: our article onsweetenersdetails what the WHO and the agencies say.

Practical takeaways

• Read the name: "pure juice", "made from concentrate", "nectar" and "fruit drink" do not refer to the same product.
• Read the ingredient list: a sugar, a syrup or a sweetener has no place in pure juice.
• Count the glass: ANSES lists fruit juices among sources of liquid sugars; it is wise to count a glass of juice within your daily glass of sugary drink.

In Yumiq, the product page shows the number of detected additives and sorts them into three groups: harmless, to watch and risky. The Yumiq-Score penalises controversial additives assessed by EFSA and ANSES, and the Yumiq star requires the absence of risky additives.

Sources

• ANSES - Sugars in the diet
• ANSES - Ciqual 2020 nutritional composition table
• Directive 2001/112/EC on fruit juices, Annex I (consolidated version, legislation.gov.uk)
• Directive 2001/112/EC, Annex II (definitions of raw materials)
• Santé publique France - The Nutri-Score calculation algorithm is changing
• WHO - Guideline on free sugars intake (2015)
• Xi et al., PLoS ONE 2014 - Intake of fruit juice and incidence of type 2 diabetes (PubMed)
• Maillot et al., Frontiers in Nutrition 2019 - Milk and 100% juice, diet quality and body weight in US children